malnosso | [Voice | LOCKED TO RESIDENTS]

Rin Okumura, I require your presence in the Battle Dome.

The rest of you, kindly pay attention, as I'd rather not have to repeat myself. Tomorrow morning - that is, the morning of October 1st, going by the ever-popular Earth calendar everyone seems to favour - an Artificial Shift will occur and pull you back in time, similar to the one a number of you experienced in the Zompania enclosure. Unlike that shift, however, this time you'll be going back years, not days. A few hundred, give or take. Your enclosure existed back then, more or less, but the technology level of that era was... lacking, to say the least. A few of you might remember the old days, so just imagine them older still. Establish yourselves and get comfortable, as you may be there for an extended period. This is not your typical shift, and the Malnosso are unaware of what's happening. Keep it that way.

You'll receive instructions after you arrive. I can't give you specifics because it's really up to you to make any progress, but you're a smart group. I'm sure you'll figure it out. Bring with you only what you can carry- necessities, not luxuries. If all goes according to plan, you'll return to your homes as they are now with no harm done. I can offer you no guarantees, however trust me when I say that everything you leave behind is better here rather than there.

Rise early, be prepared, try not to throw up. It's a significant jump and I can't promise it'll be a pleasant experience. I'd apologize, but it really is for your own good. Best of luck to you, and hopefully you'll fare better than those of the past did.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I have a failsafe in place, should things go awry. Hopefully you all won't manage to muck that up as well.

Just follow the instructions and you'll do alright.

The right now rather vague and slightly unhelpful instructions. Got it. Suppose I should be happy there's a backup plan if we completely mess up the time line.

[...]

Ah, we won't be able to ruin the fail safe by messing with time, right? [Shh. He has some cats he's leaving behind to worry about.]

Not at all. The failsafe will be with you when you arrive.

[He has his wily ways, relax.]

We're... taking the failsafe with us? Don't suppose we'll know what that is before we leave?

One of you will.

[Gosh, he doesn't need it publicized.]

[One of them will. He's guessing that to be Rin. Vash sighs and rubs at his head. Still, it seemed better than what they're usually left with. A whole lot of nothing.]

Alright. Suppose one is better than nothing. [And he's been listening to some of the other conversations that's been going on.] So we're hopefully stopping some bad things from happening. Any bad things come to mind that we should be prepared for while we're there?

Nothing for the moment. Just follow the instructions I've given and prepare yourself. There's a lot of work to be done.

Alright then. [With a tired sigh Vash starts making a mental checklist of what he should bring. Bullets, extra clothes, cleaning supplies for his guns, bullets, probably extra food and water, some bullets-- it's while he's thinking through his list that he can't help ask one last question.]

What we're changing. It shouldn't hurt anyone in this time should it? For example, people who had been born in this world. Things like that shouldn't change right?

For some, it might. But in those cases, it would be for the better.

[He's quiet for a bit. Congrats John, you've done something that's rather hard to do. You've taken the words from Vash's mouth. Noah? Possibly never being born? No. No. No. No! He can't do that! But what can he do to stop it?]

H-how likely. [A pause as he take a deep breath and then speaks calmly with not hesitation or nerves in his voice. Not that it's not there.] How likely would someone born from two parents here in Luceti a couple years ago be in danger of vanishing? [He bites his tongue on a lecture about it wasn't anyone's right to say that those people should or should not exist. He doubts anything he says now will change things. So for now he's just hoping to find out how safe, or not safe, Noah will be.]

[He does so enjoy these little moments of distress, normally.

Now isn't really the time however.]

I will do whatever I can to preserve the history of your enclosure, regardless of the changes. I won't lie to you and tell you that there is no risk at all, but rest assured, unless this entire mission ends in dismal failure, that risk is minimal.

Much of this rests on you and your friends, however.

[His heart leaps. Even if it was small, he couldn't live with himself if he did anything that would put Noah at risk.] We shouldn't do anything that could end those lives. It's not our choice that we should be making for them.

You shouldn't have to. That isn't the mission.

But there's still the risk. If we go back and change things. [The ticket to the future is always blank. What about going back to the past, Rem? What about rewriting the past to change that blank future?] How many people could get hurt with the actions we're about to take? [He's still not saying he won't try. There are too many things he would jump at the chance to redo in his own life, but he's still feeling pretty uneasy over the slim chance of hurting Noah.]

It's impossible to guess. People will be hurt whether you do this or not, just as they are being hurt now. Perhaps the question you should be asking is which people will be hurt by doing this.

[A long slow sigh is the response. Shortly followed by a small tired, groan.] Couldn't there be a way so that no one wound up hurt?

Hah. Your idealogy clashes with the desires of the world itself. No such way exists.

I have trouble believing that any world desires people dying.

Then you know very little about this world.

Or maybe neither of us know enough yet.

If that's what lets you sleep at night.

Well, any other way to think of it would be rather depressing. I think it's important to hang onto hope that there can be a good outcome for everyone. [That may not be just said for John's sake. Sometimes Vash has to hear his own stance on life out loud to keep going.]

On the contrary, I don't find it depressing at all. But it is important to acknowledge an enemy.

Acknowledge, yes. I'm not saying to be too trusting and caught unaware by someone, but still, people can change and do.

You aren't dealing with people, however. Nature itself in this world is what we are fighting, at the core of it.

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